The British Medical Journal has published a study that sought to “assess the impact of fast food restaurants adding calorie labeling to menu items on the energy content of individual purchases.” According to the researchers, including an independent consultant and a city official, the more than 8,400 adults interviewed in 2009 did not overall purchase foods lower in calories after New York City implemented regulations requiring calorie posting, but among the one in six lunchtime customers who used the calorie information provided, lower calorie choices were made. Significant variations were apparently found in the data collected from different chains, a matter attributed to customer purchasing patterns and changes in menu options and promotions. More than 7,300 lunchtime customers at 275 fast-food locations, representing 13 chains, were interviewed in 2007 and provided their register receipts so researchers could verify their self-reported purchases. The same method was used to compare and assess…
Tag Archives labeling
The European Union (EU) has reportedly introduced new rules that would halve the percentage of added water allowed in bacon products labeled as such. According to media sources, current laws set the added water limit for bacon at 10 percent, but the updated measure would require bacon containing more than 5 percent added water to be renamed “bacon with added water.” If adopted by the European Council this fall, the regulations would apparently take effect in 2015. The plan has since drawn feedback from both bacon retailers and aficionados, as well as government agencies like the U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which said that the stricter requirements would “make it clearer to shoppers exactly what they are buying.” The British Retailers Consortium (BRC), however, was less sanguine, telling reporters that reducing the added water content would make bacon “less moist, less succulent and less tender when it…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a proposed rule that would require raw meat and poultry products that contain injected marinades or solutions to be named in a way that clearly distinguishes them from 100 percent meat or poultry products. According to FSIS, consumers are likely unaware that“enhanced products” may contain increased levels of sodium because current labels are unclear as to whether a solution has been added. For example, under current rules, 100 percent chicken breasts and products containing 60 percent chicken and 40 percent solution may both be called and labeled “chicken breast.” The latter product must indicate that a solution has been added, but manufacturers have been doing so in typefaces and fonts that can be difficult to read. To avoid misbranding, FSIS proposes that the labels feature (i) as the product’s “name” an accurate description of the product with the percent…
Two U.S. senators have asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to finalize standards for a 2007 proposed rule for gluten-free food labels. In a letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) claim the delay is “creating unnecessary confusion for consumers and uncertainty for agricultural producers.” Included as part of the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004, the proposed gluten-free labeling rule represents the last time “any significant action on this has been taken,” the lawmakers wrote, adding that “regulatory uncertainty surrounding FDA’s inaction has led to a proliferation of ‘gluten free’ standards and labels provided by 3rd party groups.” Wyden also issued a July 21, 2011, press release asserting that “accurate and standard” labeling on gluten-free products is essential for those with Celiac disease—“a painful disorder stemming from the inability to properly digest the gluten found in breads.”
According to news sources, the Codex Alimentarius Commission concluded its meeting in Geneva by reaching an agreement on labeling foods that contain genetically modified (GM) ingredients. While the guidance is not mandatory, it would allow countries to label GM foods without risking a legal challenge before the World Trade Organization. National laws based on Codex guidance or standards cannot apparently be challenged as trade barriers. The matter has been debated before the commission, which consists of food safety regulatory agencies and organizations from around the world, for some two decades. Consumer interest organizations were apparently pleased with the agreement, but had urged the commission to adopt mandatory labeling. Still, a Consumers Union scientist reportedly said, “We are particularly pleased that the new guidance recognizes that GM labeling is justified as a tool for post-market monitoring. This is one of the key reasons we want all GM foods to be required…
The European Parliament has reportedly approved new food labeling rules aimed at helping consumers make “better informed, healthier choices.” As outlined in a July 6, 2011, press release, the new regulations will require labels “to spell out a food’s energy content as well as fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugar, protein and salt levels, in a way that makes them easy for consumers to read.” To this end, such nutritional information must be presented “in a legible tabular form on the packaging, together and in the same field of vision,” and “expressed per 100g or per 100ml,” with the option of expressing values per portion. Slated to take effect three to five years after publication in the EU Official Journal, the new rules also (i) tighten allergen labeling requirements for both pre-packaged products and non-packaged foods sold in restaurants or canteens; (ii) extend existing country-of-origin labeling laws to fresh meat from…
Calling for the food industry to put voluntary nutrition labeling initiatives on hold, Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Childhood Obesity, has co-authored an opinion piece about front-of-package nutrition labeling in The New England Journal of Medicine. Among other matters, the article recommends that industry leaders await an Institute of Medicine report with nutrition labeling recommendations due for release this fall. Brownell suggests that the nutrition keys system under development by the industry may confuse consumers by “including so many symbols” and allowing companies the discretion to change the nutrients listed. According to the article, “The most notable deficiency of the industry system is its lack of a science-based, easily understood way to show consumers whether foods have a high, medium, or low amount of a particular nutrient.” Brownell contends that the traffic-light system used in Great Britain is much clearer. See NEJM, June 23,…
A federal court in Florida has dismissed without prejudice two putative class actions against Kraft Foods alleging that the packaging for its Oscar Mayer® deli meat products misleads consumers about their actual fat content. McDougal v. Kraft Foods, Inc., No. 11-61202; Rogel v. Kraft Foods, Inc., No. 11-61281 (S.D. Fla., decided June 23, 2011). The plaintiffs filed voluntary dismissal notices in the cases, one of which is discussed in Issue 396 of this Update. A company spokesperson reportedly indicated when the McDougal complaint was filed that the allegations were unfounded. See Law360, June 23, 2011.
A woman who claims she consumed Ramona’s burritos believing they were low in calories and sodium, has filed a putative class action alleging that the company mislabeled its products and that the burritos were much higher in calories and sodium than individual labels in and before 2006 and bulk labels indicated. Solomon v. Ramona’s Mex. Food Prods., Inc., No. BC463914 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., filed June 17, 2011). Concerns about obesity and an inner ear disorder exacerbated by high sodium intake allegedly led the plaintiff to purchase and consume one to two burritos daily beginning in 2006. At that time, single and multiple packages purportedly indicated that each burrito contained 170 calories and 270 mg sodium. Individual burritos were allegedly re-labeled in 2010 to 340 calories and 580 mg sodium, while the bulk packaging continued to carry the lower values. According to the complaint, “Plaintiff is informed and believes…
Alabama and Indiana residents have filed a putative class action alleging violation of state consumer protection laws by a company that promotes its orange juice as “not from concentrate juice” and “100% pure Florida squeezed,” when it allegedly “contains orange juice concentrate and water.” Leftwich v. TWS Mktg. Group, Inc., No. 11-01879 (D. Ala., filed June 2, 2011). Seeking to certify a nationwide class of consumers, the plaintiffs refer to a Food and Drug Administration letter warning the defendant that its labeling violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The plaintiffs contend that they were misled by the product labeling and that the alleged misrepresentations were a substantial factor in influencing their decisions to purchase the products. They allege a loss of money, because they were “deprived of the benefit of their bargain.” The plaintiffs allege violations of consumer protection laws, breach of express warranty and unjust enrichment. Claiming…
